Many types of input devices are presently available for performing operations in a computing system, such as buttons or keys, mice, trackballs, touch panels, joysticks, touch screens and the like. Touch screens, in particular, are becoming increasingly popular because of their ease and versatility of operation as well as their declining price. Touch screens can include a touch sensor panel, which can be a clear panel with a touch-sensitive surface. The touch sensor panel can be positioned in front of a display screen so that the touch-sensitive surface covers the viewable area of the display screen. Touch screens can allow a user to make selections and move a cursor by simply touching the display screen via a finger or stylus. In general, the touch screen can recognize the touch and position of the touch on the display screen, and the computing system can interpret the touch and thereafter perform an action based on the touch event.
Because touch screens can reduce or eliminate the need for physical keypads or buttons, the touch screens themselves can often be made larger in comparison to the overall size of the device. These larger touch screens have enabled even small devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile telephones, digital audio/video players, and the like to provide a wider variety of content than previously possible, including video, graphics, Internet access, photos, and the like. The convenience of today's handheld portable devices combined with their ever-increasing multi-media functionality has made such devices seemingly ubiquitous, with users carrying them everywhere, in purses or clipped to belts. To a dedicated user, these personal devices can be as indispensable as a wallet. To that end, users may place these personal devices within arms reach wherever they go, including vehicles, movie theaters, and the like.
Because personal devices tend to have small batteries, power savings is critical. A large display illuminated to full brightness will exhaust a battery in no time, and thus power saving functions such as sleep modes are common in personal devices. For example, the display of a mobile telephone may be dimmed or go dark altogether until a call is received, or the screen of a PDA may go blank until the user activates a function or a communication such as an e-mail or text message is received. However, if one of these personal devices is in a sleep mode in a dark environment and the display is suddenly illuminated due to a received call or other communication, a nearby user who happens to be looking at the device or is instinctively drawn to looking at the display when it illuminates can suffer temporary vision impairment. Because the user's pupils have opened up in the dark environment, the sudden flash of light can cause short-term blindness or at least impaired vision. This temporary impaired vision can range from a mere annoyance to a life-threatening situation if the user is driving a motor vehicle.